Are'em, alsoreëm (Hebrew:רְאֵם,romanized: rəʾēm), is an animal mentioned nine times in theHebrew Bible.[note 1] It has been translated as "unicorn" in theLatin Vulgate,King James Version, and in some ChristianBible translations as "oryx" (which was accepted as the referent inModern Hebrew),[citation needed] "wild ox", "wild bull", "buffalo" or "rhinoceros".[1]Natan Slifkin has argued that there'em was anaurochs,[2] as hasIsaac Asimov before him.[3]
The King James Version of theBook of Job followed theSeptuagint andJerome'sVulgate in the translation ofre'em intounicorn:
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
SomeBible translations into English, including theAmerican Standard Version andNew American Standard Bible, interpretre'em as "wild ox" or "wild bull".[4][5]